Saturday 31 December 2011

Why a Family Gets a Horse

So i lied im going to post one more time before the new year. I had this story e-mailed to me and i fell in love with it and couldnt delete it. I came across it today and figured i should post it. Here you go;

A Father's Explanation of Why He Had Horses for His Children ...author
unknown
 
My daughter turned sixteen years old today; which is a milestone for most
people. Besides looking at baby photos and childhood trinkets with her, I
took time to reflect on the young woman my daughter had become and the
choices she would face in the future.
 
As I looked at her I could see the athlete she was, and determined woman she
would soon be. I started thinking about some of the girls we knew in our
town who were already pregnant, pierced in several places, hair every color
under the sun, drop outs, drug addicts and on the fast track to no-where,
seeking surface identities because they had no inner self esteem. The
parents of these same girls have asked me why I "waste" the money on horses
so my daughter can ride. I'm told she will grow out of it, lose interest,
discover boys and all kinds of things that try to pin the current
generation' s "slacker" label on my child. I don't think it will happen, I
think she will love and have horses all her life.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has compassion. She knows that
we must take special care of the very young and the very old. We must make
sure those without voices to speak of their pain are still cared for.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned responsibility for
others than herself. She learned that regardless of the weather you must
still care for those you have the stewardship of. There are no "days off"
just because you don't feel like being a horse owner that day. She learned
that for every hour of fun you have there are days of hard slogging work you
must do first.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned not to be afraid of
getting dirty and that appearances don't matter to most of the breathing
things in the world we live in. Horses do not care about designer clothes,
jewelry, pretty hairdos or anything else we put on our bodies to try to
impress others. What a horse cares about are your abilities to work within
his natural world, he doesn't care if you're wearing $80.00 jeans while you
do it. -
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned about sex and how it can
both enrich and complicate lives. She learned that it only takes one time to
produce a baby, and the only way to ensure babies aren't produced is not to
breed. She learned how babies are planned, made, born and, sadly, sometimes
die before reaching their potential. She learned how sleepless nights and
trying to out-smart a crafty old broodmare could result in getting to see,
as non-horse owning people rarely do, the birth of a true miracle.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she understands the value of money.
Every dollar can be translated into bales of hay, bags of feed or farrier
visits. Purchasing non-necessities during lean times can mean the difference
between feed and good care, or neglect and starvation. She has learned to
judge the level of her care against the care she sees provided by others and
to make sure her standards never lower, and only increase as her knowledge
grows.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to learn on her own.
She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor communicate beyond
body language and reactions. She has had to learn to "read" her surroundings
for both safe and unsafe objects, to look for hazards where others might
only see a pretty meadow. She has learned to judge people as she judges
horses. She looks beyond appearances and trappings to see what is within.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned sportsmanship to a
high degree. Everyone that competes fairly is a winner. Trophies and ribbons
may prove someone a winner, but they do not prove someone is a horseman. She
has also learned that some people will do anything to win, regardless of
who it hurts. She knows that those who will cheat in the show ring will also
cheat in every other aspect of their life and are not to be trusted.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has self-esteem and an engaging
personality. She can talk to anyone she meets with confidence, because she
has to express herself to her horse with more than words. She knows the
satisfaction of controlling and teaching a 1000 pound animal that will yield
willingly to her gentle touch and ignore the more forceful and inept
handling of those stronger than she is. She holds herself with poise and
professionalism in the company of those far older than herself.
 
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to plan ahead. She
knows that choices made today can effect what happens five years down the
road. She knows that you cannot care for and protect your investments
without savings to fall back on. She knows the value of land and build-ings.
And that caring for your vehicle can mean the difference between easy travel
or being stranded on the side of the road with a four horse trailer on a hot
day.
 
When I look at what she has learned and what it will help her become, I can
honestly say that I haven't "wasted" a penny on providing her with horses. I
only wish that all children had the same opportunities to learn these
lessons from horses before setting out on the road to adulthood.


(not gonna lie makes me all mushy EVERYTIME i read it)

Friday 30 December 2011

2 More days!

2 more days and i get to bring G home. It has been a great week, i had most of it off of work and was able to spend it relaxing with my husband enjoying the beautiful weather in here (i cant believe we practically have no snow!!)

I go today to pay the first months board at the new barn, and if that wasnt exciting enough i have finally found a saddle that i can afford for now and it comes with leathers an irons. It is a Paris Tack Dressage Saddle and online it doesnt get very good reviews but the girl i am buying it from is a friend of the family and says that it is a good saddle so hopefully it will last until i have G paid off then i can look into investing in a new saddle. The girl, L, i am buying it from also coaches dressage and jumping at the barn i am moving to on a night that i do NOT have my son, so i am sure you can see why i am so excited!

I also picked up a head stall and reins online from a girl who had bought them and never used them! I have just had great luck with getting all my tack together!! On boxing day i picked up a snaffle bit with sweet iron in it (we used them with our QH's) for cheap. I am just so excited to start the new year on a possitive note with everything, 2011 was a tough year for us.

January will be an adjustment month, adjustment to being back on the diet, being back in the saddle and working on continueing to strengthen my marriage. February will be lessons, lessons, lessons!! I hope this optimism carries on well into the new year!!

I would greatly appreciate any reviews you have on the saddle i purchased.

Talk to you all in 2012!!

xoxo

Wednesday 28 December 2011

Resolutions

It has been a few days since my last post because they holiday season is so busy, we have 2 sets of parents to see with my son and my sons father of course wants time with him as well so it makes for hectic schedules. I love every minute of the holidays though, spending time with family and friends to catch up is great. The food isnt a negative either; i love to cook, and eat which brings me to my new years resolutions, the whole reason for this post.

I have managed to find a vet for Gjonstone who is close to the barn i will be boarding at, im thrilled! Dr.R charges a flat rate for the travel and is half the price of the other vets in the area. He was highly recommended by some of the other boarders.

So my resolutions this year....

1) lose some of this weight that i have gained :( when i worked at the barn i was 120lbs of pure muscle i would like to get back to that so i will be starting the 4hr Body diet again as of January 1st. I have friends who have lost crazy amounts of weight on this plan and the month i was on it i lost 5lbs (and that was definatly half assing it). So now that i am motivated i would like to lose 20lbs to start then go from there. My exercise follows in my next resolution.

2)Commit to riding at least 4 days a week and taking a lesson 1x per week. I did forget to mention that i was speaking with a trainer who has competed PSG and was shortlisted for Team Canada for the last few years, she only takes on 2 students on i just might be able to squeeze in as her second student!!! I have a bit of progress to make before she is back from Palm Springs in the spring so i will be working my butt off!!! When i was leasing a horse i was a little lazy because i was only half leasing her it became more of a "when i felt like it" kind of thing so i WILL be out 4x a week no if's and's or but's.

3)A coworker mentioned that since her husband passed away last year she has tried to live her life never refusing an invitation. Always accepting an invite to something that could be fun, or teach her something new. I would love to be a more possitive person and experience new things so i am going to commit to it for a year and if it has possitive results if not then i will scrap it from the list next year.

I am very excited for 2012 it shows a lot of promise... 3 more days until i move my boy and my journey starts. I look forward to reading all your posts as well in 2012 and the motivation that comes along in them.

Happy New Years everyone!

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Great news

Well yesterday we made all the final arrangements for moving G January 1st, The barn is ready for him!! The Vet has been arranged to do the exam upon arrival (well while he is in quarantine) and his feet will be done as well. I cant wait to get started with him! Not much to say other than that....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday 18 December 2011

Indy

Growing up i have owned 2 horses leased 2 horses and spent my summers with 3 others. I have a few days before i can get started tracking my progress with Gjonstone so i might as well quickly review my luck with horses.... i figured i would start out with the first horse i ever owned, Indy.

                                                                             

Indy was a 4 year old Morgan Arabian mare i found online. She was posted as a great gift for a young rider.. I was 20 when i bought her. When i went out to see her i fell in love instantly she was stunning and so friendly i figured her being really green was not a problem after all i had the time, patience, and some knowledge on how to start a horse and if i had to i would bring in someone to help, boy was i wrong.

I was told she was easy to load into a trailer, but the day we picked her up it was a 15 minute battle to get her into the trailer. A good friend of the family offered to board her since i had no place of my own and couldnt afford very much for board. S, has a lot of experience with horses and had studied Equine Massage Therapy as well as competed in barrel racing for years.

Every chance i had i was out there trying to work with Indy, she was great when she was in a corral by herself, but as soon as the herd came up she changed her personality completely and was at times extremely possesive over me. Before introducing her to the herd we thought it would be a good idea to have her feet done so S brought out her ferrier and offered to be there when he came to trim Indy's feet, I had been informed by the previous owners that she stood perfect for the ferrier no issues and when i looked at her feet they were evenly trimmed so no major signs of being difficult again was i wrong, the ferrier could barely touch her feet without her trying to bite and kick him even with S holding her the ferrier felt she was far to dangerous for him to trim and recommended we work with her on that before calling him out again. I was not impressed to say the least.

So Indy was introduced into the herd which created even more problems in the herd of about 20 horses their were a few yearlings that she started showing extremly high amounts of agression to... one of them she ran into the fence and it later died from a baseball size hole in its neck she left it with. I was heart broken but not willing to give up on her yet i could see that she had potential but it was getting her to that point that was difficult. Everytime i went to see her it became more and more difficult to get her out of the herd she started running away from me playing a game of "chase me" that i was not particularily fond of, im sure i could have bribed her with grain easily but i really dont think that is very productive i mean sure you catch the horse but your teaching it to only come when you have grain... thats just me i guess. When i was able to catch her she reared a few times trying to get the lead out of my hands and once placed in the outdoor arena to start our work she would run from me and kick out at myself or anyone else around, S had to advise her kids not to go anywhere near her.

Im pretty sure it was around that time that S asked to seperate her from the herd, i was more than happy with that choice i didnt want her to injure herself or any of the other horses out there. Our training had made NO progress and i was working on making arrangements to bring a trainer out to help me because at this point i knew i was WAY over my head with her.

One night i got a text from S telling me that i needed to get out to the farm as soon as possible something very bad had happened and i needed to call a vet while on my way out. I started bawling immediatly i knew that something had happened Indy had done something and i started thinking i would have to put her down. I packed up my family and went out to the farm to wait for the vet to meet us there. On the way S sent me a few pictures of what had happened and i couldnt stop crying.

When we got out there S had brought Indy into the barn, she had tried to get back in with the herd and jumped the 4ft fence for the pen she was in and ran across the property and tried to jump in with the herd she made it over the bottom 3 wires but got stuck between the top and the bottom 4. Her left from leg was cut open so deep that you could see the muscle cut in 2 (i have photos but they are pretty graphic if you would let to see message me and i will send them to you). The vet came out and stiched everything up but she still would not put any weight on her leg, for a week i was out there all day everyday giving her bute (which was impossible) and cleaning the stitches as i had been asked but it didnt look like it was getting any better to me. I could see that it was starting to open up again after about a week i was just hoping that the muscle had taken and was starting to heal.

I recieved a text from S telling me that it had opened back up and the muscle had not taken, at that moment i knew i would have to put down my very first horse after only months of owning her. I was heart broken and to top it all off the original  owners had heard that i would be putting her down and they called me at work to tell me i was not doing all i could for this horse and they would just come "pick her up" and deal with it themselves. Heart broken i asked S to take care of it for me and she agreed. A few days later i went to pick up my tack and ontop of the saddle i found a big peice of her mane and tail.

I am still very sad about losing Indy but it was probably for the best... i would have never forgiven myself had she hurt anyone else i just wish there had been more i could do for her. I still have her mane and tail and have found a lady who does amazing tribute work for reasonable, i guess ill get around to it when i feel like dealing with it. Right now its hidden in a keep sake box until i can handle going through it all again.

Horse Hair Jewelry (this is the link for the lady who does the tribute peices she is very talented and i am sure will ship anywhere, so please check out her site!)

Maybe tomorrow i will start on the leased horses lol, we will see how that goes!

Saturday 17 December 2011

A day late....

Yesterday was such a long day, just odd scenerios with clients... and in my industry there isnt many "odd" situations. My husband also came home last night so i am absolutly exhausted since we just HAD to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie (dont worry i wont spoil it, but you should go check it out!) last night at 10:30pm.

Christmas always makes money very tight because there are so many people to buy for, and spoiling my son is a priority this year because the last 2 years i have not been able to make the holidays really special for him, and this year since i have been at my job now for over a year and am making pretty good money i am able to do all the things for my family i have wanted to do. On top of the new job and everything this will be the first year i get to actually spend christmas with my husband!! I am very excited for that!!

Along with being excited for the holidays comes the stress of having to move my horse right after. Dont get me wrong i am so so excited that in 15 days i will have him boarded 5 minutes from my house and we can begin our journey together, but i am a little worried about making sure i can fully afford him. Being young and starting out is not easy let alone when we already have 2 kids to provide for. I guess im just bummed because i came to the realisation yesterday that i wont be able to buy the saddle package i had wanted for a while i will try to find some stuff used to get by for now. I did see a few used saddles but Dressage saddles are so expensive.... i managed to find a bareback pad to use for now to use for the first few rides. Im hoping we have a great rest of December so maybe i can afford one in February with my commisions.

Im going to leave you with a picture of something everyday until i move G then i will start posting some videos of our work and pictures of the barn and stuff. Cant wait, even though im super stressed i am so excited to get back on a horse and start training... i havnt done much since the summer when i was leasing a horse more on that fiasco tonight lol.


Again not me riding but this is Gjonstone at his first Dressage test last year. When he was thinner lol.

Thursday 15 December 2011

Spreading some Christmas Cheer

Christmas is a time when everyone goes out and spends a small fortune on family, co workers, pets everyone important but it seems that we always forget that there are people out there who do not have as much as the rest of us whether it is material items or family itself.
I have been at my current job for over a year now and this year our department decided to do a secret santa. Usually i am not into these things because i hum and haw about what to get my person then end up picking something up the day of that im pretty sure gets regifted at christmas to some distant cousin. My manager thought we should put a spin on it so instead of buying gifts we think that the other person would like we were to buy a childrens toy that reminded us of that person to later be donated to the Salvation Army or Santa's Anonymous. I was a little skeptical at first but i had a BLAST it was so much fun sitting with the people i work with all day and sharing crazy client stories, my stomach hurts from the food and the laughter.

I am very lucky for all i have and for where i am in life.

On another more horse related note i have finally purchased the liability insurance i require for the barn i want to board at, one thing down lol now to try and get into the office on a day it is open.

With the holidays fast approaching i just wanted to say i miss you Cam. Im sad that i will never go back home and see you walking uptown to see if you won anything on your lottery tickets. I miss your dancing like a crazy person to the backstreet boys making us laugh until we had tears in our eyes. I miss you and K trying to convince all of us that your Ouiji board truly does work. I know one day i will see you, Matt, and Stefan again i know you are looking out for us all. They finally caught all four of them and they will be in trial on the 19th of this month... i cant bring myself to go.... but you will have lots of support there. Love you lots friend <3

Very emotional day today Christmas is always so hard. On a good note the husband is home tomorrow *yay* for 3 weeks. 17 more days until i move Gjonstone I cant wait <3

That is not me riding but thats my new boy <3

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Givin it a try....

I have never done this whole blogging thing... i always have a ton of thoughts so it will be nice to get some of them down.

Let alone the fact that i have purchased my second horse and am really looking forward to tracking our progress and sharing stories with some people on here that i follow religiously ha ha.

Like other "horse people" i am attempting to find a balance between my love of horses, my family and my full time career. Thankfully i have an amazing husband who is very supportive of me, a horse crazy 3 year old  son and a boss that is a rider as well.

Anyways back on track,

Last year in December i bought a beautiful Morgan/Arab mix registered and everything, this was my first horse i had ever purchased so i was a little hastey and didnt see the signs that this was NOT the horse for me, But she was beautiful and i had never purchased a horse for myself before so i went for it. It took a month for me to arrange affordable board and transportation (at that time i didnt have the support of my husband so it was a struggle to make it all work). Her name was Indy and when i first got her to the boarding facility she was great not a problem to saddle and loved attention. It was not until we put her into the heard that things went downhill, she started chasing the yearlings into the fences and just causing chaos in the pasture. We tried to seperate her but that didnt work either she stressed herself out so much eventually resulting in her jumping a 4 ft fence just to get back into the herd, unfortunatly she didnt do to well with the second fence... and well thats a whole other story.

So this time i am doing it RIGHT!!!

I purchased a beautiful 5 year old Trakahner Gelding, he is a gentle giant. Originally i was wanting to compete in show jumping but after seeing his movements and how full of himself he is it would be a waste to not get him going in dressage. So i cannot wait i will be moving him January 1st just in time to start the New year New you challenge.

But it is late and im sure my son is STILL not sleeping (lovely) so i must convince him that sleep is a good idea then i think i shall continue trying to read ALL the blog posts on Dressagemom's blog. Honestly my inspiration to blog my journey i am about to embark on with my new best friend.

Talk soon everyone.

(very sorry if there is spelling and gramatical errors... i wrote this and then realised that my husbands laptop doesnt have microsoft word....wtf?)